Wow. What a difference a few weeks make. In the beginning of the month I was enjoying the days getting longer and Spring in the air. And now this. Once a week, or less if I can, I touch the outside world. I go shopping trying to touch as little as possible and distance myself from others. I come home and empty as much as I can out of the packaging before bringing into the house. I wipe down my car, door knobs, and do what I can to keep the inside of my home safe. I never before realized just how many things I touch, how much my face itches when I can't touch it, and how many times my hands go near my face. Fortunately, my husband and I have hobbies that lend themselves to this situation. He goes out back to the garage to do woodworking while I go to local parks to photograph birds and other wildlife. When I go out, the only things I touch are my car, my camera, and my binoculars. When I see fellow birders, we keep our distance. Walking with nature is a way for me to regain some composure.

Spring is in the air for the birds. Birds are starting courtship displays including switching to their spring songs. Some are gathering nesting materials. Waves of migrating birds have been coming through. Swallows have returned and Violet-green Swallows came through on their way to the mountains. Rufous Hummingbirds are passing through. At the end of the month, Western Kingbirds and Bullock's Orioles have been recently plentiful. One late afternoon I saw a large flock of Whimbrels fly in at the shore. 

In the early part of the month, I was still occasionally birding with larger groups of people. When a rare bird shows up, the birders flock. That was the case with the Blue-headed Vireo. However, shortly thereafter, things started shutting down. No group outings, no trips, and my butterfly and bird surveys are canceled. This has led me to bird close to home and explore places I don't usually go. With playgrounds and sports fields closed, there are more places to bird. I found two Dusky-capped Flycatchers in two separate parks. They must have overwintered here but have been overlooked. Only a few show up in Southern California each winter. A fellow birder walked through his neighborhood and found a bottlebrush tree filled with Orioles, including a lost east coast Orchard Oriole. It took me only 15 minutes to get there and see it too.

I have always wondered about the significance of sneakers hung on a lamppost or in a tree. It seems like a waste of perfectly good shoes. I saw some Nike's in a tree at the park.  An Allen's Hummingbird was collecting spiderwebs from the sneakers to help build its nest. I think whoever threw the shoes up there may have had a different idea of wild life.

We did have rain this month. On the rainy days I stayed in and did art. I made a series on prints using printing ink as monoprints combined with block print. I cut the raven out of a rubber block making a positive and a negative image. I feel very artsy when doing it. However, printing is messy. I will probably not do it for a while because cleanup involves too many paper towels, and those are hard to come by right now.

Sometimes I want to do art but get stuck at the blank page. To break the spell, I take a piece I didn't like, and cut it up and do something with it. I had a piece that reminded me of pines. I then added the birds: Hermit Warbler and Townsend's Warbler. Less pressure, more fun.

Finally, I did a more detailed watercolor painting. This requires more skill. I need to practice more.

I hope this finds you and your family well. I think we are in this for the long haul. I am trying to watch less news and find creative ways to occupy my heart and mind, including connecting with friends and family.

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Enjoy the show! I always appreciate corrections to ID's.

Local stuff:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/new_mar_2020